2020 Peterson Malbec, Bradford Mountain Estate Vineyard, Dry Creek Valley
Tasting Notes
Concentrated aromas of red and black berries and plum mingle with traces of cigar box and oak. The lively yet velvety smooth entry offers ripe mulberry, spiced plum, and boysenberry. Traces of floral notes, leather, black pepper, minerality, and dark chocolate-covered espresso bean merge with the luscious fruit essence as rich spicy flavors linger in the finish. An integrated structure and layers of flavors create a robust yet elegant wine with balanced complexity and charm.
Try a pairing of filet mignon with béarnaise and a side of roasted fingerling potatoes, or pork tenderloin stuffed with chimichurri served with a brown rice pilaf.
Jamie Peterson’s Vintaged Views & Vineyard Notes
We planted our Malbec block in 2008, with very little prior experience growing or making it. The couple of hundred vines that grow alongside the Cabernet Franc and Merlot on our Bradford Mountain Estate Vineyard were planted to produce just enough wine to be a blending component in our Bordeaux varietal blends.
Some years, like 2020, the vines produce an abundance of juicy, ripe, deep purple berries, and we’re blessed with the opportunity to produce a varietal bottling of Malbec. This limited production palate pleaser is one of our Wine Club-only wines.
Specs
Composition: 100% Malbec
Vineyard: Bradford Mountain Estate Vineyard
Appellation: Dry Creek Valley, Sonoma County
Harvest Date: September 22, 2020
Alcohol: 14.8%
pH: 3.45
TA: 0.63g/100ml
Barrel Aging: 25 months
Cooperage: 33% new French oak barrels, 67% 3-year-old French oak barrels
Bottling Date: December 7, 2022 (unfined & unfiltered)
2019 Peterson Petit Verdot, Bradford Mountain Estate Vineyard, Dry Creek Valley
Tasting Notes
An easy sipping wine isn’t the first thing that comes to mind when you open a Petit Verdot, but once you try this one, you might change your mind. Rich, enticing aromatics of vine-ripened brambly blackberry mingle with cedar spices and oak notes. A fresh, vibrant entry offers focused flavors of mulberry, boysenberry, and black cherry woven with hints of sage, violet, and black licorice. A solid structure seamlessly supports this intense, delicious wine even as it lingers on the palate. If opened before 2025, give the wine some breathing space to allow its beauty to shine through.
Best to pair with heartier fare like a chateaubriand drizzled with a rich brown reduction sauce and a side of béarnaise, or grilled wild boar tenderloin served with cavatelli, Gorgonzola, and cherry tomatoes.
Fred Peterson’s Vintaged Views
In 1983, when we began planting the Bradford Mountain Vineyard, I sourced Merlot and Cabernet Franc budwood from Newton Vineyard in the Napa Valley. John Kongsgaard, the winemaker/manager of Newton Vineyard, is a friend and former classmate of mine from UC Davis. When I arrived at the vineyard to make the cuttings, John mentioned that I might be interested in taking some Petit Verdot cuttings. He felt that it was an important component of their Bordeaux blends and might do well on Bradford Mountain. I cut enough Petit Verdot budwood to graft half of an acre of the rootstock we had planted in the spring.
I subsequently learned that this Petit Verdot selection could be traced back to the Jackson Field Station in the Sierra Nevada foothills. This demonstration vineyard was planted in the 1880s by Henry Hilgaard, the founder and first professor of the Department of Viticulture and Enology, at University of California.
While always an important part of our Cabernet Sauvignon and Agraria blends, we never thought it would be bottled as a varietal wine. In 2010, Jamie put together a blend that showcased the savage qualities of both the variety and the Bradford Mountain terroir. The 2019 vintage was another vintage with the perfect growing season to fully ripen Petit Verdot, providing all of the classic characteristics.
Peterson Winery has been producing wine in Dry Creek Valley for 30 years and, like most wineries in the Valley, produces Zinfandel as well as other wines. Yet a closer look shows that is where the similarities end.
Owner Fred Peterson is an iconoclast with an old-world winemaking philosophy and a reverence for sustainable farming. The Peterson approach is to capture the essence of vintage and vineyard—a philosophy they call Zero Manipulation—with low tech, yet high touch, to produce wines of a place, wines with soul. The evolution of Peterson wines and winemaking accelerated when Fred’s son Jamie became assistant winemaker in the summer of 2002. In 2006, after moving from the tiny red barn on Lytton Springs to Timber Crest Farms, Jamie was given the overall responsibilities as winemaker. As a winegrowing team, Fred and Jamie assess the grapes from each vineyard and vintage as the season progresses, evaluating how the weather, soil, and site are interacting for the particular vintage. At Peterson Winery, the winemaking process begins while the grapes are still on the vines. Zero Manipulation is a discipline the Petersons follow to capture the character and balance of inherent in the grapes. Zero Manipulation means using the most gentle, traditional winemaking practices possible to maximize the flavors, aromatics, and texture of the wines. Fred and Jamie celebrate vintage differences and don’t tweak or homogenize the wine to obtain consistency of flavors, a common practice in mass-market wineries. For Fred and Jamie, Peterson Winery is all about the wines. But if you look a little deeper, you’ll see the heart and soul that goes into every bottle.
Available States
AZ, CA, CO, DC, FL, GA, ID, IL, IN, IA, KY, LA, ME, MA, MN, MO, MT, NE, NV, NH, NJ, NM, NY, NC, OH, OR, RI, SC, TX, VT, WA, WV, WI, WY
How much more are you saving by buying a full case?
(Note: tax and shipping are not included in savings calculations.)
Peterson Malbec & Petit Verdot - $55 = 21.56%
Labrat for the Malbec
Bradford Mountain! My favorite vineyard for Zins from Sonoma County. Didn’t know Malbec was planted there
Color depth is deep
Color hue between purplish and ruby though closer to purple
Aroma: youthful aromas of boysenberry, sticks/twigs. My wife noted it smells bright and fresh
Bone dry with a surprising light to medium body given its color
Fresh acidity with low tannins and perfect balance
Taste: boysenberry, nutmeg, black tea, bergamot with some rose and leather. A light rubbery smell came through on day 2. But in a good way. Reminds me of Black Bulgari cologne if anyone remembers it
Overall a well made wine with nice acidity and brightness that would pair well with grilled meats and burgers I’m still surprised how the taste doesn’t quite match the purple color of the wine
Quite enjoyed it and wife guessed $45 winery price while I pegged it at $32
Both agreed under $20 a good buy. Jo brainer at the case price if the PV delivers
Note: my notes are always blind, I.e. never look up a wine nor read Casemates notes or price before posting
Someone that has a favorite flavor of crayon complained that I used too many words the last time I ratted and they suggested I give a “tits” or “ass” rating. So for them, assuming “ass” is bad, I give this a rating of : tits.
I don’t know if a conversion chart exists for that so… moving on…
Labrat checking in.
Peterson 2020 Malbec. Bradford Mountain Vineyard.
Nose: Berry. Velvet oak. Pepper.
Look: Inky dark ruby. Darker than my crappy pic- sorry. There’s a thin layer of wine in it.
Taste: Blackberries, plum, cedar, leather. Complex. Enough tanins to say high to your jaw, but very approachable.
Lush pepper lingers on the finish. Very well balanced.
I consider this a perfect wine for “in between” a Bordeaux Cab and a Merlot. Comforting and bold at the same time.
My cellar is full, and I still told myself if this was less than $20/bottle, I’d get it. If you want a Malbec that elevates above just being a great value, I suggest this one.
Also, you can take the letters “Peterson Malbec” and rearrange them to spell out “Cab Sleep Mentor”. Do with that what you will.
2020 Peterson Malbec, Bradford Mountain Estate Vineyard, Dry Creek Valley
Tasting Notes
Jamie Peterson’s Vintaged Views & Vineyard Notes
Specs
2019 Peterson Petit Verdot, Bradford Mountain Estate Vineyard, Dry Creek Valley
Tasting Notes
Fred Peterson’s Vintaged Views
Specs
What’s Included
4-bottles:
Case:
Price Comparison
$480.00/Case for 6x 2019 Peterson Petit Verdot, Bradford Mountain Estate Vineyard, Dry Creek Valley, Sonoma County + 6x 2020 Peterson Malbec, Bradford Mountain Estate Vineyard, Dry Creek Valley, Sonoma County at Peterson Winery
About The Winery
Available States
AZ, CA, CO, DC, FL, GA, ID, IL, IN, IA, KY, LA, ME, MA, MN, MO, MT, NE, NV, NH, NJ, NM, NY, NC, OH, OR, RI, SC, TX, VT, WA, WV, WI, WY
Estimated Delivery
Monday, Oct 13 - Wednesday, Oct 15
Peterson Malbec & Petit Verdot
4 bottles for $84.99 $21.25/bottle + $2/bottle shipping
Case of 12 for $199.99 $16.67/bottle + $1/bottle shipping
2020 Peterson Malbec
2019 Peterson Petit Verdot
How much more are you saving by buying a full case?
(Note: tax and shipping are not included in savings calculations.)
Peterson Malbec & Petit Verdot - $55 = 21.56%
Peterson is always an autobuy
Labrat for the Malbec
Bradford Mountain! My favorite vineyard for Zins from Sonoma County. Didn’t know Malbec was planted there
Color depth is deep
Color hue between purplish and ruby though closer to purple
Aroma: youthful aromas of boysenberry, sticks/twigs. My wife noted it smells bright and fresh
Bone dry with a surprising light to medium body given its color
Fresh acidity with low tannins and perfect balance
Taste: boysenberry, nutmeg, black tea, bergamot with some rose and leather. A light rubbery smell came through on day 2. But in a good way. Reminds me of Black Bulgari cologne if anyone remembers it
Overall a well made wine with nice acidity and brightness that would pair well with grilled meats and burgers I’m still surprised how the taste doesn’t quite match the purple color of the wine
Quite enjoyed it and wife guessed $45 winery price while I pegged it at $32
Both agreed under $20 a good buy. Jo brainer at the case price if the PV delivers
Note: my notes are always blind, I.e. never look up a wine nor read Casemates notes or price before posting
Someone that has a favorite flavor of crayon complained that I used too many words the last time I ratted and they suggested I give a “tits” or “ass” rating. So for them, assuming “ass” is bad, I give this a rating of : tits.
I don’t know if a conversion chart exists for that so… moving on…
Labrat checking in.
Peterson 2020 Malbec. Bradford Mountain Vineyard.
Nose: Berry. Velvet oak. Pepper.
Look: Inky dark ruby. Darker than my crappy pic- sorry. There’s a thin layer of wine in it.
Taste: Blackberries, plum, cedar, leather. Complex. Enough tanins to say high to your jaw, but very approachable.
Lush pepper lingers on the finish. Very well balanced.
I consider this a perfect wine for “in between” a Bordeaux Cab and a Merlot. Comforting and bold at the same time.
My cellar is full, and I still told myself if this was less than $20/bottle, I’d get it. If you want a Malbec that elevates above just being a great value, I suggest this one.
Also, you can take the letters “Peterson Malbec” and rearrange them to spell out “Cab Sleep Mentor”. Do with that what you will.